Endoparasites of exotic ungulates from the Giraffidae and Camelidae families kept ex situ

Giraffes and camels are popular attractions at zoological gardens. In order to present the diversity of parasites infecting exotic ungulates from zoos, faecal samples from three giraffes and six camels from both the Silesian Zoological Garden in Chorzów, and Kraków Zoological Garden, were examined. The research was carried out over a ten-month period in 2013 and 2014. In total, 100 faecal samples from 18 animals were analysed with the use of the McMaster method. Moreover, coccidian oocysts were incubated to investigate their development and larvoscopic examination was conducted to detect the presence of nematode species. Giraffes were infected with coccidia from the genus Eimeria, and gastrointestinal nematodes from the Strongylida order, and Trichuris and Aonhotheca genera. One male giraffe was uninfected. The level of infection in giraffes was low when compared to camels kept in both of the zoos. Limited contact with other animal species contributed greatly to the lower level of infection in camels from Kraków Zoo than those from Chorzów, which were kept in the same enclosure as alpacas and Shetland ponies.